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March 14, 2018 | County Health Rankings Revealed
 Media Contact:
Kristina Wieghmink, Public Information Officer
Ottawa County Department of Public Health
(616) 494-5597 or kwieghmink@miottawa.org
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Ottawa County ranks #1 as the healthiest county in Michigan and has held that place since 2014, according to the 2018 County Health Rankings (CHR). The rankings show us where we live matters to our health and good health is influenced by many factors beyond medical care including jobs, housing, education, poverty and more. Ottawa County maintained or improved in 69 percent of the 35 measures, and did as well or better than Michigan in 85 percent of the 35 measures. However, Ottawa County does not compare favorably to the state or to top counties in the area for access to primary care (medical, dental and mental health providers). The county has consistently had fewer providers for the size of its population, but despite this, Ottawa County compares favorably in many health outcomes.
Noteworthy, the CHR findings coincide with the recently revealed Ottawa County Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) results, which states obesity, as well as poor mental health and access to mental health care providers, as ongoing concerns.
“Ottawa County has all the social and community characteristics that distinguish a community as healthy. We have fantastic partnerships that enable us to achieve healthier outcomes," said Marcia Mansaray, epidemiologist with the Ottawa County Department of Public Health.
Ottawa County's #1 rank has six sub-rankings: Length of Life, Quality of Life, Health Behaviors, Clinical Care, Social and Economic Factors and Physical Environment. The county maintained or improved in four of the six sub-rankings. The exceptions were Clinical Care and Physical Environment.
Ottawa County's Strengths:
- Longer life span
- Lower teen birth rate
- Fewer babies born at a low birthweight
- Fewer children in poverty
- Very low unemployment
- Less inequality among the highest and lowest incomes
Ottawa County's Opportunities for Improvement:
- Number of mental health providers (Ottawa County has almost half for its population than top counties - 640 residents per provider versus 330 residents per provider)
- Poor or fair health and the number of days of poor physical and poor mental health has increased since 2017 for Ottawa County and other top counties
- Adult obesity is higher than it has ever been (29%)
- The rate of sexually transmitted infections continues to increase
- Children living in single-parent households 23% now compared to 17% in 2010
- Increase in violent crime rate (203 cases of forcible rape, robbery, homicide and aggravated assault per 100,000 population compared to just 62 in top counties)
The CHRs are released every year by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. Find other county rankings at www.countyhealthrankings.org.
What do we do with all this information?
While Ottawa County ranks high in numerous health outcomes, we still have much more work to do! The Ottawa County community uses the CHR and CHNA to develop Community Health Improvement Plans (CHIP). The first CHIP was created in 2015. The 2018 CHIP starts this month and we need community participation. The 2018 CHIP will build on the work of the 2015 CHIP that created plans to address access to health care, mental health and healthy behavior; while also taking into account new data we have for Adverse Childhood Experiences and much more. We encourage people in health care, public health, business, government, nonprofit organizations, faith-based communities and schools to get engaged.
 Planning Dates
Thursday, March 22 8:30-10:30 a.m.
Thursday, April 19 8:30-10:30 a.m.
Thursday, May 31 8:30-10:30 a.m.
Planning meetings are at the County of Ottawa Administration Building - Main Conference Room 12220 Fillmore St. West Olive, MI 49460
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See what else the Ottawa County Department of Public Health has been doing!
Check out our latest annual report at www.miOttawa.org/health2017
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